Hope fluttered in her chest. Mason loved her? He’d been talking about his feelings?
Her first instinct was to rush inside and book a flight back to California. She could—
No, she told herself. She was going to think things through. She was going to make sure she knew her mind and her heart before she did anything. Besides, there were logistics to be worked out. When she went back, she wanted to be ready to stay there permanently. No running back and forth.
“Your dad’s going to bring Zafina to the house later today,” Robyn said, walking toward her daughter. “He’s thinking of buying the house from me.”
Harlow’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously? But isn’t that weird? Are you okay with that?”
“It was my idea. This is much more his house than mine, and she’s pregnant.”
“Let’s not talk about the baby,” Harlow said, following her inside. “I’m still getting past the gross-factor of that piece of news.”
“She could be your stepmother,” Robyn said lightly.
“Yeah, that’s more of a problem. I just hope Kip finds someone before there’s a wedding.”
“If not, I’ll be your plus-one.”
They walked into the kitchen. Harlow poured herself coffee.
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course. You’re my favorite daughter, and I love you. I was thinking of making pancakes.”
“With bacon?”
Robyn smiled. “Yes, with bacon. Go wake your brother, and I’ll get started on breakfast.”
Harlow picked up her coffee. “What about Mason? Or are you going to tell me it’s none of my business?”
“I’m going to tell you that I’m in love with him, but I need to think a few things through before he and I have that conversation.”
As she said the words, she fought against fear he would be done with her by the time she got back. No, she told herself. That wasn’t a concern. If he got over her so quickly, then his love wasn’t real. She was talking weeks, not months. Besides, she had to do what was right for herself. She had to be willing to be strong. Loving Mason was one thing, but loving herself mattered, too.
“You have it all together,” Harlow said with a sigh. “When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but try being your own person. That generally works out better.”
A new lesson, hard-earned but powerful. Lillian would be so proud.
* * *
“It’s nice,” Enid said, looking around at the apartment. “But it’s kind of small.”
Harlow grinned. “How can you say that? It’s nearly seven hundred square feet.”
“Can you live here?”
Harlow thought about how expensive rent was in the Keys and that this place would cost nearly half her take-home pay. But the job was exactly what she wanted, and she was hoping to keep the rest of her expenses low. And be so dazzling that her passengers would tip her generously.
“I’ll do great,” she promised her friend.
Enid’s expression remained doubtful, but Harlow wasn’t concerned. She was going to be just fine on her own.
As promised, her brother had helped her load the truck she’d rented to bring her things down from Naples. One of his friends had tagged along to help with the heavy stuff. Between the three of them, they’d had her things unloaded in a couple of hours.
Austin and his friend had left to return the rental truck, and her mom had shown up to help her unpack. Robyn had treated all of them to a night at a hotel—probably the last luxury Harlow would see for a while, so she’d enjoyed her lovely water view and roomy shower. She’d spent the last couple of days settling in. Enid was joining her for the weekend, before heading off to medical school.
“Come on,” Harlow said, grabbing her bag. “I found a great little place around the corner. The cocktails are amazing, and the food is cheap.”
Enid grinned. “I love cheap food.”
“Me, too.”
They walked the short distance to the restaurant. It was early enough that the place wasn’t too crowded. They were shown to a quiet table on the patio. Harlow scanned the happy hour drinks menu, letting price as much as the description inform her decision. She was a bargain shopper now—something of a change, but not a bad one, she thought.
Once they’d placed their drinks order, Harlow smiled at her friend.
“Are you excited about school?”
“Mostly scared. I’m afraid everyone will be smarter than me.”
“Not possible. At least one of them has to be as smart as you.”
Enid laughed. “I was looking for more support.”
“Why? You know you’re uncomfortably bright. You’re lucky I’m willing to be friends with you what with you being so freakish.”
Enid studied her. “You seem okay. I thought you’d be more upset about Kip.”
Harlow had told her about the breakup but not the final details. She wasn’t hiding Kip’s behavior so much as still processing it and trying to figure out if it mattered much beyond proving he really was a jerk.
“I got over him pretty fast,” Harlow admitted. “I thought I was desperately in love with him. I thought I wanted to marry him. What does it say about me that I was completely wrong?”
Enid grinned. “That you’re human?”
“Or that I’m an idiot.” She held up a hand. “Not in an ‘I’m pathetic’ way, but you have to admit, I had no idea who Kip was. Why didn’t I ask more questions, or really take a look at his character? What made me fall in love with him to begin with? What if the whole relationship was based on the fact that I was getting close to graduating from college and the next obvious step was getting married? Am I really that shallow?”
“That’s way too many questions,” Enid told her.
“I know, but it’s what I’m working through. I want to figure out what went wrong. What was my fault or at least my responsibility, and what’s on him? Then I want to do better next time.”
“You’ve really changed. Grown up, I guess.” Enid grimaced. “Not that you weren’t grown-up before.”
Harlow laughed. “I know exactly what you mean. And you’re right. I’ve changed a lot. When I think about fighting with my mom about having the wedding in the backyard, I’m so ashamed.”
“But you’ve made up?”